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Chapter 339: The Backup
Chapter 339: The Backup
The summer night breeze, which should not have been cold, carried a heavy and sinister chill as it blew over the hillside.
The Great Serpent named Nagini had bound Cedric's entire body, leaving only his head exposed.
Sherlock stood beside the Great Serpent, less than three feet away from the snake.
Facing Sherlock, above the person in black robes who held a swaddled bundle, a multitude of Death Eaters hovered in the air on broomsticks, each pointing their wands at him.
"What do I know?"
He spoke softly, his right hand gently rubbing the phoenix feather from Fawkes that he held in his palm.
If he squeezed it hard enough to make the feather ignite, Fawkes, who was far away at Hogwarts, would sense his location and come to his aid immediately.
But if that happened, Cedric would surely die on the spot.
As his teacher, Sherlock could not abandon his student's life so easily.
He had no other better plan for the moment, so he could only try to stall for time, hoping that Hogwarts would notice his and Cedric's disappearance and react quickly.
"Fidelius managed to escape from the German Ministry of Magic because you had someone help it, right?"
Voldemort seemed to have no objection to communicating with Sherlock. In fact, this was their first face-to-face meeting.
"I had high hopes for that thing, but in the end, it's just a waste of time!"
Sherlock's arm, where he concealed the feather, twitched slightly, clearly indicating that the innocent creature was furious at being insulted.
"When Harry's name was thrown into the Goblet of Fire, I began to suspect that one of the people who arrived at Hogwarts this year was involved", he said calmly. "At first, I suspected Crouch, while Mad-Eye Moody suspected Karkaroff."
"They both showed various suspicious points later on, especially Crouch. You couldn't completely control a mentally strong person. He broke free from the Imperius Curse and escaped. That's when I realized that, while under the Imperius Curse, his target had always been me alone."
"The plot against Harry was assigned to someone else, which made Karkaroff stand out even more."
"And indeed, during the second task, he made his move in the Black Lake, attacking Harry underwater."
"If the Giant Squid hadn't saved Harry at the last moment, Harry would have fallen into your hands then."
Voldemort showed no concealment of his disdain for his incompetent followers.
"I gave that traitor a chance to redeem himself, but he failed. He has proven his worthlessness."
Sherlock's mind raced. Behind him, in the blind spot of the Death Eaters, a dozen wands floated silently out from under the hem of his robe.
"Your follower is quite clever. He has probably already escaped."
"He won't get far", Voldemort's voice was cold and indifferent, as if discussing a trivial matter. "So, how did you figure out that I was going to capture Harry?"
"Karkaroff had the opportunity to kill Harry underwater, but he didn't do it."
Sherlock's wand, which was hidden under his robe, had already split into two parts. One part was aimed at the Great Serpent Nagini, while the other part was inserted into the soft ground, preparing for some sort of spellcasting.
"His attack on Harry and the act of putting Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire seem contradictory."
"If he wanted to eliminate Harry directly, he wouldn't need to make Harry participate in the Triwizard Tournament. This would only make Harry the center of attention, making it harder to carry out the plan."
"So, at the time, I began to suspect that if you could separate the actions against me and Harry, you might also have divided the most crucial actions against Harry into two parts."
"After all, Karkaroff was once a traitor, and no one could guarantee that he would work wholeheartedly for you. Therefore, you needed someone else to cover your back."
"Who do you think that person is?" Voldemort asked coolly.
"Because I couldn't guess who this person was, Dumbledore and I came up with this plan", Sherlock said calmly.
"Since you wanted Harry to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, the plan must have been to strike during the competition. Harry was safe during the first two tasks, so your focus would be on the final task. No matter who this backup person was, as long as the Harry participating in the tournament wasn't the real Harry, your plan would fail."
"But after being brought here with the trophy, I could almost guess who was covering for your plan."
"Ludo Bagman, a man who was once found to have connections with Death Eaters within the Ministry of Magic but was pardoned due to his contributions during the Quidditch World Cup."
"Besides this largely forgotten trial, everyone believes he has no connection to the Death Eaters or you, Voldemort. He is seen as a clean and upright Head of the Department of Magical Sports and Games."
"Is that the only reason you suspect him?" Voldemort asked.
Cedric, who was bound by Nagini and had been listening intently to Sherlock's deductions, suddenly felt something brush against his face. When he turned to look around, he saw nothing.
It wasn't until he looked in Sherlock's direction that his pupils dilated slightly.
Nearly ten wands, hidden under Sherlock's robe, were now aimed at Cedric's direction. The wand tips even moved slightly, as if waving hello.
"Of course, there's more to it than that. He was overly attentive to Harry, offering to provide secret help for each task."
"This could be explained by a retired Quidditch player's admiration for Harry, another outstanding Seeker from Britain. However, in this situation, his behavior was too obvious, wasn't it?"
"But these suspicions are just that—suspicions. There's no concrete evidence, and we couldn't take any overt action against Karkaroff. It's even more difficult with Bagman, who is the Head of the Department of Magical Sports and Games."
(End of Chapter)
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